I Don't Own Naruto or Pokémon!
Bonds – Chapter 2
"Here we are, everyone."
After a brief hour of cleaning up, Professor Oak's laboratory was properly presented to the group of trainers and their families. All the files and Pokéballs were back onto their proper shelves, but most of the computers were cracked and shattered, leaving the normally high-tech desks scarce of screens. Fortunately, the overall infrastructure of the building was intact and none of the walls were cracked, though parts of the ceiling were void of tiles and some of the hanging light fell to the floor. But ultimately, all of the starter Pokémon were all perfectly intact in their Pokéballs and could be given out.
Naruto scratched the back of his head, "I'm so sorry about all the mess, old man."
The Professor laughed it off and waved his hand, "It's okay, Naruto. None of the important things are harmed." He draped his lab coat over the back of his desk chair and smiled at the crowd as they surrounded the stack of Pokéballs. "And I've always wanted to show these kids some proper Pokémon before they get theirs, and this year it actually happened. Tyranitar and Garchomp are definitely very powerful and well-trained – well, when their trainer is present – but regardless, they are of extremely high levels."
Professor Birch smiled along and nodded, "I'll say! Normal Hyper Beams, even from a Tyranitar, wouldn't have such destructive power." The younger professor recalled seeing clouds being blown away by the strong attack and remained in awe, "I would go on a whim and say that Tyranitar is nearly at the peak of its potential – it is as strong as a Tyranitar could be."
Max grinned and nodded, "Totally! The Draco Meteor of Garchomp was gigantic, and Tyranitar's Hyper Beam was strong enough to reach beyond the clouds! That's way beyond what normal attacks like that could do!"
May smiled, 'They are trained by the Kanto and Johto Champion, after all.'
"Can we get our Pokémon now?!" asked Mito loudly as she hopped up and down.
"Yes, we'll start right now." Professor Oak smiled at the girl and nodded as he gestured to the Pokéballs, "Here are the choices again, kids," recited Professor Oak as he looked down at the group of excited new trainers. "There are three basic types of starters here. Bulbasaur, a Grass Type Pokémon, Squirtle, a Water Type Pokémon, and Charmander, a Fire Type Pokémon. Each of these Pokémon are easier than most to train and have already been taught to listen to their trainers, and they each have very powerful evolved forms."
Mito was eyeing the Pokéball placed in front of the picture of a Charmander. She had already made up her mind years ago when she found out that her brother started out with a Charmander. She had seen Naruto battle with his Charizard and how amazing it was. Mito wanted to have something like that – not only a powerful partner, but also a close friend. Not to mention that she'd seen her brother ride of his Charizard's back and soar through the skies – that made her want a Charmander more than anything. Mito would like nothing more than to feel the clouds run through her hair as the world passed unceremoniously beneath them. And of course, the baby Charmander she met a few weeks ago in the lab was the cutest Pokémon she'd ever seen.
"Some of you have already told me you choice weeks in advance, so I've reserved each of you your requests." Professor Oak smiled at the daughters of the Namikaze Family and gestured to her, "Mito, come here."
Kushina and Minato smiled proudly as their baby girl run up to the professor, giggling excitedly as she clapped her hands together. "Do I get my Charmander now?!" she asked loudly, making the others chuckle.
Oak smiled and nodded, "Yes, you do." He placed Charmander's Pokéball in Mito's hands and ruffled her hair, "I am happy to give you your first Pokémon, Mito. Be sure to take care of it with love and care."
"I will!" Mito threw the Pokéball into the air and it let loose a white light. A very young Charmander fell from the air and Mito caught it in her arms, laughing as she hugged it close. "My Charmander!"
"Char," purred the Pokémon as it snuggled into its master's chest.
Professor Oak smiled fondly at the sight, "This Charmander is a female, and she is one of the best-behaved Pokémon in the lab."
Ash, along with his friends, stood further back in the room, but all had smiles on their faces. Most of the group were reminiscing back to the times they each received their own first Pokémon. Be it from Pallet Town, Cerulean City, Pewter City or Little Root Town, they were all fond memories that their owners would never forget. Like many other firsts in life, starter Pokémon will forever be a huge part of a person's life. Max, looking on with envy, could only wish for his own tenth birthday to arrive quicker.
"Hey girl," whispered Mito as she slowly walked back to her family, "I'm going to name you…Benihime, after you, mom!"
"Thank you, sweetheart."
Minato stood behind Kushina and wrapped his arms around her as she rested back against him. Even without seeing his wife's beautiful face he knew that she had tears welling in her eyes. They were both extremely proud at their baby girl, who looked so happy and giddy holding her small Pokémon in her arms. After listening to Mito talk about how she'd care and love her little Charmander, actually seeing her hold one in her arms was heartwarming. Unfortunately, this also meant that the start of Mito's Pokémon journey was about to begin, and Minato and Kushina weren't sure if they'd be happy about having her so far from home.
Naruto stood next to his parents and smiled at his baby sister – the scene reminded him of his own starter Pokémon. "Congratulations, Mito."
Kushina pulled Mito into a hug and kissed the top of her head, almost squishing the small Charmander in between them. "I'm so proud of you, Mito." Minato joined the hug and kissed his daughter's head as Kushina sniffled, "You're going to be a great trainer."
Mito smiled up at her parents before she turned to her brother, "Naru-nii, can I see your Charizard?"
Naruto understood his sister's reasons and patted her head, "Sure, I'm sure the others will as well."
As someone who grew up in Pallet Town, Naruto knew exactly how well prepared and sufficient were Professor Oak's designed fields for Pokémon. In his younger years, Naruto had worked around the Professor's fields and took care of many Pokémon, studying their behavior and habitat. In fact, the young Namikaze had designed several fields of his own – including the field his own Pokémon currently used. From the size to the type of ground, to the height and kind of trees, to the amount of wild fruit around the area, to the PH levels of the water, to even the amount of noise that could reach in. Since he had already planned out his teams of Pokémon before he actually caught them, he had prepared his fields accordingly.
"I've never actually been back here before," muttered Ash as he looked at the thick forest.
Most of the young trainers and their parents left – the last thing they wanted was to go anywhere near the two Pokémon that nearly killed them. Mito, holding onto Naruto's hand, skipped along as they made their way to the field. Kushina and Minato were right behind them, smiling at the closeness of their babies. It had been a very long time since Mito had seen Naruto, and as a little sister who looked up at her brother as a hero, they weren't surprise that she was clinging so close to him.
Ash and Max were constantly looking around, trying to catch sight of any of Naruto's Pokémon, but none were showing up.
"Where are your Pokémon, Naru-nii?" Mito asked as she held her little Benihime under one arm.
"Just over there – in that clearing." Naruto led the way through the thick forest and soon a large clearing. It was narrow at first, but expanded to twice the size of the other fields. All the grass were neatly cut and there were large patches of flowers that delighted the entire field. Scents of daffodil and lilies floated around the air and there was a soft breeze carried them throughout the field – it was almost nothing like the other fields. This was a controlled environment; it was more like a natural forest clearing.
"Where are they?" asked Max.
Kushina and Minato smiled at the sight and held each other's hand.
Naruto patted Mito's head before he stepped ahead, smiling as he stepped further into the clearing. "Everyone wait here for now; I need to go in first."
Mito tilted her head as she hugged Benihime close to her chest, "In where?"
Before Naruto, or anyone else, answered, Mito was shocked to see her brother vanish before her eyes.
"Whoa, where'd he go?!" asked Misty and May oddly in sync.
Ash and Gary, along with Brock and Tracy, all stepped forward and felt the air and were shocked to feel some sort of invisible barrier. It was as if most of the clearing was sealed off by some invisible wall. "It's…it's a barrier," muttered Tracy, "It must be generated by some psychic Pokémon. But to conjure such a large and invisible barrier – it must be a powerful one. And the Barrier actually visually blocks the scenery inside, so it must be coupled with some sort of Hypnosis attack." Tracy looked back at the professor, "This is why we always leave the food outside of the forest; no one can even go into the clearing!"
Professor Oak smiled and nodded with crossed arms, "Yes, it is quite fascinating. I almost never see such a diverse group of Pokémon form their own small society. Perhaps it is because of the way Naruto had trained his Pokémon, but they have their own hierarchy and a complete chain of command."
"Wow, that's amazing," whispered May in wonder.
Mito looked at her parents, "So Naru-nii is inside with his Pokémon now?"
Minato nodded as he patted his daughter's head, "Yes, they teleported him inside." The Namikaze patriarch had been one of the first two hear his son's theory on a new large Barrier Dome, and he had been fascinated by it ever since. To think that one Pokémon could, on a long-term basis, maintain such a taxing technique – his son's Pokémon were truly amazing. "Your brother's Pokémon don't like to associate much with other trainers' Pokémon and they like their privacy, so they live inside this dome." Minato also knew that his son had always kept his training techniques closely guarded secrets, and the dome was a nice way to keep people from spying on him.
"So, so can we go in?" asked the young Namikaze girl.
Kushina nodded, "Yes, I think your brother will let us in soon."
"Tsuki…" Naruto whispered as a sad smile appeared on his face, "Come here."
A beautiful Gardevoir had tears welling in her eyes as she teleported in front of her trainer and jumped into his arms. As one of Naruto's very first Pokémon in the Hoenn Region, Tsuki had always been one of Naruto's favorites and he had truly missed her. Watching her grow from a shy little Ralts to a pretty Kirlia, then to a beautiful Gardevoir made Naruto almost feel like a father. She was definitely one of his Pokémon princesses and definitely had the power to be one of his team leaders.
"G-Garde," sobbed the Pokémon as she snuggled into her trainer's shoulder.
Naruto wrapped his arms around his princess and kissed the top of her head, "I'm sorry it took me so long to come back, but I've missed all of you." He patted Gardevoir's head and looked around at the beautiful clearing, "And you've clearly kept up our training; the Illusion Barrier looks great and works even better than before." Gardevoir still had tears in her eyes and Naruto brushed them away, "Don't worry, I won't be going away anymore. I am going to stay with all of you, and if I go traveling again, I will bring all of you with me."
Tsuki nodded, "Gar, Gardevoir."
"Now, let's get the others out here." Naruto, with Tsuki still holding onto his arm, walked forward and smiled, "Come on, everyone, get out here!"
It happened in a split-second – the bright flash of white light that enveloped the area. But there was no surprise from Naruto; he knew exactly what was happening – he had spent weeks training all his Pokémon for such a dramatic entrance many years ago and he had always loved it. He wouldn't have admitted it back then, but one of the main reasons he placed a psychic type within most of his teams was for such entrances. Perhaps it was his father's influence, but he thought Teleport was one of the most practical, yet flashy moves to use, and entrances couldn't be better with it.
He smiled as his six teams appear in front of him in splendor.
Standing at the forefront was his first team. A magnificent Gyarados, along with two glorious Pidgeot, a grinning Gengar, and one stoic Alakazam all stood proudly despite their lack of leadership. All the other teams fanned out to the sides. Naruto's second team: a Dragonite, a Dragonair, an amazingly Red Gyarados, a Meganium, a Scizor, and a Sneasel. Then his third, Tsuchi – his recently angered Tyranitar – stood in front of his subordinates – a Blastoise, two Arcanine, an Aerodactyl and a Steelix. Then was his Hoenn Team: the leader – a Salamence – along with a Blaziken, a Flygon, a Metacross, and an Absol. Gardevoir also belonged to this team, but she was still holding onto Naruto's arm. His next team was led by Sora, the Garchomp, and despite his slight wounds, he stood proudly in front of his troops. An Infernape, two Medicham, a beautiful Milotic, and a Luxray all looked proud. And finally, the sixth team was led by a Goodra; a Haxorus, Hydreigon, two Greninja, and Gallade followed behind.
"Aww, come here!"
It may have been a mistake to teach some of his Pokémon Teleport or Agility, because they all rammed into him and knocked him into the ground. Itachi – his Sneasel – was the first and attached itself to his head, just like he would when they traveled through Johto. Then it was Meganium – her name was Midori – and she knocked him onto the ground, but that didn't stop her from licking his face. Beni and Shiro were next – his twin Arcanine – and they, along with Midori, made his face dripping wet. Then Naruto felt something slither under him, and he was giddy to see his Aoi-hime – his Dragonair – wrap herself around him with a cute smile. He was laughing as all his buddies, pals, princesses, smothered him with affection – it had been a long time and he really missed all of them.
"Goo!" Naruto laughed harder as Goodra, with his usual big smile, pounced onto the group, covering everyone with goo. "Goo, Goodra!"
Naruto hugged his happy dragon close, "I missed you too, Seiken."
"Blast, Blastoise," muttered Mizukage as he sprayed the group with a jet of water, cleaning away the goo.
Kazekiri and Kazekiba – his twin Pidgeot – made a vortex of wind around the group and dried everyone.
"Oh, I missed you all so much!" Absol – named Shiki – nuzzled against his leg, making Naruto smiled and scratch his neck and pat his head. "I'm sorry it took me so long to come back, but that's the last time I'm leaving for so long." The blond rested onto the soft scales of his Milotic and smiled at every one of his Pokémon, "From now on, I'll spend a lot more time with all of you." He looked at Tsuki with a soft smile, "Now, release the Barrier, Tsuki."
In an instant, his family along with the others were all standing behind him, looks of shock and awe on their faces. All of Naruto's Pokémon were standing in formation the moment the Barrier fell, each leader standing proudly in front of their subordinates. It was as if they had been trained to appear as formidable and intimidating as possible in front of other people, even if it was their master's family and friends.
"W-Wow," muttered May as she stared at the sight in awe – it was almost overwhelming to think that every Pokémon in front of her was probably just as strong as the clashing Tyranitar and Garchomp.
Ash and Gary were thinking along the same lines, but they were also comparing their own Pokémon to Naruto's. They had some of the same Pokémon, but they could clearly tell that Naruto's were at much higher levels. It wasn't just because of their physical fitness or size, but was also their powerful disposition. It was as if they all had some sort of hidden power that revealed to everyone that they weren't regular Pokémon – they were the pinnacle of Pokémon development.
"Look at all of them!" cried Max giddy as he jumped forward a little.
Professor Oak smiled and crossed his arms, "I've always loved how they all stand in formation whenever they meet someone new."
"Yes, it is fascinating," agreed Professor Birch, "And it is good to see that you also have a lot of Hoenn Pokémon." He clearly noticed that Gardevoir was the one who was responsible for the Barrier Dome, which was already impressive, but the others looked awesome as well. The Blaziken, Flygon, and Metacross look very healthy, and it was always nice to see a trainer with an Absol. "Wow," he muttered as he noticed the other Pokémon, "You also have Pokémon from Sinnoh, Unova and Kalos!"
Naruto smiled and patted Seiken's head, "Yes, I've traveled around before I challenged the Elite Four, and I've had these teams since I was fifteen."
Mito tugged on her brother's hand, "Naru-nii, what about your Charizard?"
The ex-champion smiled at his baby sister and nodded, "He's right here." He reached for one of the Pokéballs attached to his belt, but unlike the rest, it wasn't red and white – it was completely black with a white center. And when his other Pokémon noticed him reach for it, they all seemed to stand up taller and become more serious. "Come on out, Amaterasu!"
The usual white light came out of the Pokéball and a tall figure emerged from it.
"Char!"
Its slight grunt sounded like a roar and made Max and May step back from shock, and soon a magnificent Charizard stood proudly in front of everyone. Instantly, everyone knew that this was no normal Charizard – it was a lot bigger and taller. It was also a darker shade of orange and its flame was much more intense and large – it was so hot the group felt a little uncomfortable standing around it. The Professors were also surprised to see Tyranitar and Garchomp bow their heads and avoid the gaze of Naruto's first Pokémon, as if they were afraid that they were in trouble. Though, everyone's attention were mostly drawn toward the eye-patch Amaterasu wore on its left eye and a long scar that stretched from the corner of that eye down to its left cheek.
Benihime squirmed a little in Mito's arms and whimpered as she looked up at Amaterasu. "C-Char…"
"Relax, you guys." Naruto reached up and patted his oldest friend's neck, "He's really friendly and would never hurt you." Amaterasu looked down at Benihime and reached down with his claws, only to pat her lightly on the head. Naruto smiled and Mito giggled, "See, he's strong, but friendly."
Kushina and Minato smiled and stepped up to their children, "That's really sweet."
Mito looked up at Amaterasu with a smile, "So…this is what a Charizard looks like." It had been a long time since Mito had seen her brother's starter Pokémon in person. She saw him on television when her brother's battle with the Elite Four was broadcasted, but the last time she saw Amaterasu in person, he was probably still a Charmeleon.
"Well, it looks a lot bigger than Ash's Charizard," muttered Misty as Brock nodded in agreement.
Naruto smiled, "Yes, Amaterasu continued to grow after he evolved and as he grew stronger, he grew bigger as well."
"So are these all your Pokémon, Naru-nii?"
"Not at all," replied the blond with a smile, "These are my main teams and each are based on an individual region. I trained these teams specifically to battle against Pokémon Gyms and the Elite Four." Naruto held onto Mito's hand and led her further into the clearing, "The rest are over here." The others followed behind along with the six teams and they walked into an even larger clearing, and the group was one again shocked at the sight. There were no teams or overwhelming Pokémon, but it also looked nothing like a Pokémon Laboratory field. "Hey guys!" cried Naruto loudly.
At his call, hundreds of Pokémon of all range and sizes, rushed over to Naruto, all giddy and happy at the sight of their master. But these were not the insanely trained titans like the ones of the teams, they were almost like wild Pokémon. Almost immediately, twin Pichu latched themselves onto Naruto's head and nuzzled into his hair. Dozens of Nidoran – male and female – Rattata, Pidgey, Growlithe, Vulpix surrounding Naruto and all tried to jump up at him. Coming in a little slower were amazingly, several Dratini, and one of them was pink! Mito couldn't even hold herself back and ran to pick it up, gushing as the small dragon whined when it couldn't reach Naruto.
"Holy smokes!" cried Max as loud as he could, "There must be hundreds!"
May and Misty were in titters as hordes of Butterfree and Beautifly surrounded them. "Wow, I love this place!" The girls, along with Max and Brock all walked into the group of Pokémon and enjoyed their affections. "They're all so friendly and cute!"
Brock was in awe at the amount, "I wonder how many Pokémon are here?"
"Just under six-hundred, to be exact." Professor Oak would check each of the Pokémon every day, and he knew the numbers better than anyone. Ash and Gary were staring further down into the clearing and saw more Pokémon coming, and there were some very rare Pokémon in the crowd. "They aren't just normal wild Pokémon one would find around normal areas; some of the Pokémon here are very rare, like the Dratini, especially the Pink Dratini."
Kushina walked up to Mito and gave her son a look, "I can't believe you were hiding this little beauty from me!" The Pink Dratini purred as Mito and Kushina petted her head and started to make her way up Mito's arm, "She is so precious and cute!" Dratini nuzzled into Mito's long hair and seemed oddly comfortable nesting on her head, "Oh, and she likes you, honey."
Naruto smiled and nodded, "Yeah, she does like you, Mito."
The girl giggled and patted the Dratini as Benihime reach up higher to see it, "I really like her too."
"Then how about you keep her?"
Mito was shocked and looked up at her brother, "Really?"
Misty, May and Max all looked envious as Naruto nodded, "Yeah. I'm not training her at the moment and I already have a Dragonite and a Dragonair in my teams." He patted Dratini's head and smiled, "She seems to like you a lot and I'm sure you can use another Pokémon to train. Having two Pokémon train together is always better for a trainer." He smiled at his sister, "So how about it? You want to keep her?"
Mito grinned and nodded, "Of course I want her! Thanks, Naru-nii!"
"No problem." Naruto ruffled Mito's hair before he stepped further out onto the field, looking around at the wide open space. "But before I forget, I have to show my new Pokémon this place."
Minato smiled, "What kind of Pokémon did you catch?"
Naruto chuckled at his father before he threw four Pokéballs onto the ground, letting out four beams of light. "Well, these aren't like my older Pokémon." A Glaceon first appeared and quickly smiled up at Naruto, but was not as quick as the Jolteon who hopped into his arms. A Miltank was next to appear, and next to it was a Vanillite, and both of them looked delighted to be set free. "I don't use them to battle at all – well, I haven't battled in a long time anyway."
"Aww, she's really cute," cooed Kushina as she held the Glaceon, making her purr as she scratched it behind her ears.
Naruto knelt down and patted Miltank's head, "They are very well behaved and make the best ice cream in the Unova Region." Minato and Kushina both looked confused, but Naruto continued, "That's what I've been doing! I opened my own little ice cream shop in Virbank City and business is booming!"
Mito stared up at her brother, "You're selling ice cream?"
"Yep. It's quite fun and relaxing."
Minato smiled at his boy and placed a hand on his shoulder, "Well, that's one way to enjoy life. It's better than what your grandfather does, at least."
Naruto chuckled, "Definitely." He smiled at the group, "Hey, feel free to play with the Pokémon, but I need to speak with Professor Oak for a second." His parents gave an almost sad look, but ultimately decided to leave things be. "It is okay, old man?" Mito looked up at her brother confused, but remained silent – she knew her brother had his own schedule.
Professor Oak sighed at his nickname and nodded, "Sure, come with me."
The professor knew exactly what Naruto wanted when he asked for his attention, and quickly led him back into the laboratory. It had been quite a long time since Naruto had checked up on their age old project, but the elderly man wasn't surprised – it had been so many years, he doubted it would ever come to any results. Nonetheless, it had been Naruto's most concentrated project since he was a child and it was deeply connected to him, so the professor understood.
"So, an ice cream store, Naruto?"
Naruto smiled and nodded at his mentor, "Yep, I'll make you a cone later!"
Oak laughed and nodded, "I look forward to it." The Pokémon Researcher looked at the boy he had watched grow up before his eyes and smiled sadly, "But if I may ask: are you still not battling?" Silently, Naruto shook his head, looking rather stoic. Professor Oak sighed and placed a hand on the young man's shoulder, "It has been four years already, my boy. What happened that day was a tragedy, but it was not your fault. There was no way you could have predicted such a consequence."
"Amaterasu lost an eye that day, and his Pokémon died." Naruto brushed his hair back and sighed, "No Pokémon Battle should cost the life of any Pokémon."
"You have to learn to let go; you are far too young to be carrying such baggage." Just like four years ago, Professor Oak noticed that Naruto lacked the fire he had in his eyes since birth. "You are truly the most talented trainer I have ever seen in my life, and it is a shame that you no longer train for battle. Your six teams are still in tiptop shape, and they all yearn for battle." The professor looked ahead and reached for his card key, "You have a gift, Naruto. No amount of luck or good fortune could ever allow a twelve year old boy to beat every Gym Leader in two regions without ever losing once, and it should be impossible for the same boy to beat the Elite Four consecutively with such ease. Don't waste it."
"This gift made me a killer, so I hope to not use it." He had gotten used to it after four years of no Pokémon Battles.
All was silent as Professor Oak unlocked one of many steel doors in the laboratory and they both stepped inside, both looking at the lone Pokémon Egg that sat still under a warm light. It was the only specimen inside the large room, and there were many computers attached to it. It showed a steady heartbeat on the monitors and Naruto smiled softly as he placed a hand on the egg, tracing his fingers along the whirlpool patterns on the white shell.
"It's been a long time," whispered Naruto to the egg.
In a way, the egg was Naruto's first Pokémon. According to his parents, on the day he was born, this egg mysteriously appeared and ended up next to him in his crib. He was still a baby, but had his arms wrapped around the egg protectively, and since then, Kushina and Minato had allowed Naruto to keep the egg like pet. They had all thought it would hatch within a few weeks, but much to the confusion of the Namikaze Family and the fascination of Professor Oak, it never did. The professor had ran countless amount of tests on the egg, and he couldn't find the slightest hint of its species. All they knew was that the egg was still alive and still had the ability to hatch, but for some reason, it just wouldn't.
"Since you're staying for a while, I think you should talk to the egg more."
Naruto nodded and picked up the egg, "I definitely will." Suddenly, a vision flashed before his eyes and he saw a shadow of a Pokémon. 'Luuu, Lugia…' The image and voice disappeared like a whisper in the wind and he just shook his head. "Come on, old man, I'll make you an ice cream cone."
The End!
Well, that's the second chapter and I hope you all liked it. I dropped much more hints into this one. XD
PS. Anyone care to guess the pairing? I've left some small hints about it in this chapter.
PLEASE LEAVE A REVIEW! XD